


you're the missing last piece [seungjin]

by seungminsice



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: (past) platonic seunglix, 3racha are just musicians trying to get by, Fluff and Angst, Han Jisung | Han & Kang Younghyun | Young K are Siblings, Hwang Hyunjin is Whipped, Kim Seungmin is Whipped, Kim Seungmin-centric, M/M, Mentioned Day6 Ensemble, Mentioned GOT7 (GOT7), Mentioned ITZY Ensemble, Mentioned TOMORROW X TOGETHER Ensemble, Mentioned TWICE Ensemble, Twins Hwang Hyunjin & Hwang Yeji, a dumb immortal au that nobody asked for, a large amount of jype is here and then some, background minchan bc they make me happy and i feel like it, felix isn't really present in the story until close to the end, got7 is in the 'and then some' bc got7 really did that, minchan are tired parents to six adult children, please define het bc it will not be found here, this is my first work so be patient or whatever
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-17
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:55:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,240
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28124217
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seungminsice/pseuds/seungminsice
Summary: seungmin is tired.change doesn't greet him naturally, so he has to initiate it by himself. he moves to a new town every decade or so, reinventing himself and trying to distance himself from the past. such has been the case since...huh. has it really been that long? almost half a millennium, by now.half a millennium of wandering, falling in love but having to leave them behind. could this time be different?he desperately wants it to be different, even if he's just getting his hopes up.~in which kim seungmin moves to seoul to protect another from heartbreak. unfortunately, he meets hwang hyunjin, and his vow to never fall in love again is broken.~
Relationships: Bang Chan/Lee Minho | Lee Know, Hwang Hyunjin/Kim Seungmin, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 26





	1. goodbye

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> enter kim seungmin, who is trying to fix a mistake he made.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is the prologue of YOU'RE THE MISSING LAST PIECE, a seungjin fic that i've been working on for a little while. this is my first time posting on ao3, and i'm still not entirely sure what i'm doing, so please be patient.
> 
> i hope you enjoy it! feel free to leave me feedback.

_"Hey! Give me that."_

_Seungmin laughs as he holds the camera out of Felix's reach. He had just taken a candid shot of him a few moments before, wanting to document how beautiful Felix's freckles looked during golden hour. "Not if you're going to delete it!"_

_Felix pouts slightly, finally giving up on trying to take the camera from his friend. "Can I at least see it?"_

_Seungmin sighs dramatically. "Fine, if you insist." He obliges quite quickly, pulling up the image and lowering the camera so his friend can see it. "This time of day does wonders to your skin. I couldn't pass up such a wonderful opportunity!"_

_Felix looks back up at Seungmin, eyebrows raised. "If you say so. You sure it wasn't just so you could have concrete evidence that you're my friend?"  
_

_"That's a secret I'll never tell." After a few moments of silence, the two burst out laughing, definitely disrupting the other people that are also on the beach._

_"Well, I guess I'll let this one pass. You can keep it as something to remember me by when you miss me." Felix smiles facetiously, pulling out his phone to quickly take a picture of Seungmin. "That was revenge, by the way."_

_Seungmin rolls his eyes. "Clearly."_

* * *

Seungmin sighs, lingering on the photo for several moments. It's the same one from that night about a month ago, when they were celebrating their college graduation. In this particular photograph, Felix is looking away from the lens, out at the sea. He has a small smirk on his face, having just shared an absolutely horrendous pun. As simple as the picture is, it holds a lot of meaning to Seungmin.

It's the last picture he took of Felix.

God, why hadn't he said goodbye? He could have at least said that he was going to be moving away. Now, Felix is just going to think he disappeared without a trace. He's going to be upset, heartbroken when he finds that Seungmin is gone.

Seungmin wipes away the single tear that had escaped down his cheek. Turning off the camera, he returns it to its case and sits up in his seat. Now is not the time for regret.

"Flight QF367 from Sydney to Incheon National Airport is now boarding."

_This is it._

Seungmin stands slowly, picking up his backpack and slinging it over his shoulders. Suitcase in hand, he walks towards the gate.

_Goodbye._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading! i'm so excited to finally start this story. i hope that you're doing well and that you have a good rest of your day.
> 
> -amy, the author of this mess


	2. new beginnings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> seungmin adjusts to his life in seoul. he makes some new friends and reflects on his time in sydney.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here's chapter one! this is all going to be a little confusing as i establish the context of the story. please be patient and feel free to ask me questions if you don't know what's going on.
> 
> hope you enjoy this chapter.

Seungmin has been searching for something almost since he was born.

He hasn’t exactly figured out what he’s looking for, though he’s had a very long time to figure it out. Regardless of how many people Seungmin has met, he has always felt that something is missing. He has had a lot of time to look for it, but he cannot even begin to imagine what it could possibly be. It has to be something that’s as permanent as he is, but there’s nothing that lasts that long.

Seungmin has fallen in love a few times. By chance, he meets a person that seems to light up the world around them. Seungmin stays for a few years, gives as much love as he can. But eventually, he has to leave, has to move on.

One day, Seungmin stumbles across a new city, one of the few he hasn’t lived in. The nightlife is loud and bright, and daytime isn’t much quieter. He’s been meaning to try out the next chapter of his life here, since it couldn’t hurt to explore the world if there’s nothing tying him down anywhere. Even though he’s spent months learning the language before moving, it’s a bit like jumping into a cold lake on a hot summer’s day. You’re never really ready for it, no matter how much you try to tell yourself that it’ll be cold before getting in.

Seoul is much louder than the last place Seungmin walked through. He hasn’t lived in a city this big for at least thirty years, but he figured it was time for some change. His apartment is much, much smaller than the house he had in the outskirts of Sydney, but it’s just big enough to fit his needs. A bedroom, a bathroom, a kitchen, a sitting room, and an office. After a few days, it’s pretty clear that it won’t be able to comfortably accommodate a gathering of more than six, ten if he really pushes it. But he’s not really worried about that, since he probably won’t meet that many people while he is here. He has just come to see the city, maybe spend a few years immersing himself in the culture before setting off for the next destination. Maybe he should try Normandy after this? Or he could try another pass at the West coast of America?

Wherever he ends up, Seungmin is almost positive that he’ll be there soon. Seoul is a beautiful city, but he hasn’t found something incredibly special yet. If he is truly on a scavenger hunt for a part of him that’s been missing for as long as he can remember, Seungmin shouldn’t spend too long in one place if there’s nothing for him to find there. Yes, he’ll probably end up moving by the end of the month.

But what Seungmin couldn’t have anticipated was that he wouldn’t be moving that soon, and he certainly wouldn’t be leaving Seoul for a long time. He just had to wait a few days, and he’d meet somebody that would keep him around a bit longer.

* * *

Seungmin makes his first friend within the first few weeks. A regular at the coffee shop that is closest to his apartment, it only takes about four separate instances of them being next to each other in line before the other introduces themselves.

“Fancy meeting you here again. I’ve been dying to tell you this all week, but I really like your hair color.” Seungmin looks up from his phone, taking note of the person that's just given him a compliment. It's a broad-shouldered man that's a few inches shorter than Seungmin. He's clad completely in black (jeans, tee shirt, hoodie, baseball hat) and has a backpack on his shoulders.

“Thanks,” Seungmin responds, a little bit surprised to hear this from him. He runs a hand through his fading purple hair. “My friend told me I should try something new.”

“They definitely give good advice. It suits you.” He pauses for a moment. “My name’s Chan, by the way.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Seungmin.” He smiles, taking the Iced Americano that a barista holds out to him. While Chan waits for his order, Seungmin decides to hang around a bit to keep him company.

"You come by here a lot, but I haven't seen you before two weeks ago. Did you just move to Seoul?"

"Yes, actually. I live a few blocks away. Based on how much I see you here, I figure you know all the regulars."

Chan smiles sheepishly. "Yeah, what can I say? I like coffee. This is a pretty nice place to get it. Besides..." he stops mid-sentence, taking his coffee from the counter. "Thanks Minho! Love you."

The barista rolls his eyes from a few feet away. "No matter how many times you say it, I'm not going to start giving you discounts. Please go flirt with somebody else."

Chan laughs quietly. "As I was saying, the other reason why I come here is because my best friend makes really good coffee and looks hot while doing it. That's Minho. I'm sure he'd love to meet you."

Minho walks back to the counter, placing his hands down and looking Chan dead in the eye. "You're so annoying." He turns to Seungmin, a light smile forming. "Hi there, I'm Minho, this idiot's friend. Who are you?"

"My name's Seungmin."

"It's a pleasure to meet you. Hopefully this means that Chan will stop bothering me while I'm working." He looks back at Chan, who is holding in laughter. "Don't you have a rehearsal in half an hour?"

Chan's eyes widen, his smile dropping. "Oh god, you're right." He looks at Seungmin. "I have to go right now, or else I am going to miss a moderately important meeting. It was great to meet you, Seungmin!"

"You too, Chan," he replies, looking down at his watch. "I should probably head out too. I've got to get to _my_ job."

Minho waves goodbye from the counter as the two boys run out of the café, a wide grin on his face. As they part ways, Seungmin goes left, heading to his job at a publishing company. For the first time since he came to Seoul, he has a smile on his face and a bounce in his step.

Maybe adjusting won't be as hard as he thought. After all, you get used to the water eventually, even if it's cold for a few moments.

* * *

Seungmin is winding down for the evening, eating a little bit of leftover takeout from a few nights ago for dinner. It's been a quiet day, overall. Work was uneventful, his social life is composed of approximately two people, both of which he met officially three days ago. He's not necessarily dissatisfied with how he's adjusting, but it could be going much better, quite honestly.

While scrolling through his phone and trying to find something to pass the time, he takes a moment to look at his lock screen. The photo is of him and Felix, taken by their friend Kai on New Years' Eve. The picture has really bad lighting and is not framed well, but that didn't really matter when Seungmin decided to set it as his lock screen. The two of them are suspended in fits of laughter, probably from Kai telling a dumb joke. It was back when Seungmin's hair was light brown and Felix's was cherry red.

Seungmin sighs, leaning back into the couch and looking up at the ceiling. The hardest part of starting over was learning not to regret what you left behind.

Seungmin missed Felix. A lot. Sure, he was sad to leave Kai and Chaeryeong and Ryujin and Beomgyu and all of the other friends he'd made while they were in university. But he missed Felix the most. Felix was the closest he'd gotten to a best friend in nearly a hundred and twenty years, and was easily one of the people Seungmin wanted to tell the truth to the most. Everything about Felix was so genuine, so down to earth and easy for Seungmin to get used to. As soon as he became close to Felix, he wanted to stay in Sydney for the rest of eternity.

But he couldn't.

Seungmin had set some rules for himself after the first few decades of moving around. Don't stay for longer than a decade or two. Don't tell anybody what's wrong with you. Don't tell anyone where you're going next, lest they try to find you when you go. Don't tell them when you leave. Make sure you can easily cut yourself out of the life you've created at any given moment. And please, god, don't fall in love. Don't let anyone fall in love with you. Seungmin remembered that being the first rule he made after watching a lover pass away. Losing someone was hard, and it was even more painful when you loved them.

Somehow, he slipped up when he got to Australia. As soon as he met Felix, he let his guard down and let Felix in. He never got to the point where he told Felix about his immortality, but he let him get closer than ever before. He's still not sure why.

However it had happened, Seungmin realized one day exactly how close he was with Felix. Something clicked, and he realized how dangerous it was to be close to him. Seungmin started thinking more intensely about what could go wrong, and he got scared, so he decided it was time to move on. It hurt, but he had to let Felix go.

He didn’t want Felix to hurt in the same way he was hurting, but he couldn’t bear to lose him in the same way that he’d lost so many others. So he moved on. He moved away from Sydney, away from the sun-bleached city and the peaceful suburbs and the beautiful house and Felix, whose smile could make the sun run for its money. Felix, whose freckles put the Milky Way to shame. Felix, whose voice was deeper than Mariana’s Trench. Felix, who always knew the right thing to say, who could make your day better with little more than a hug and a few words of wisdom.

Seungmin pulls his legs close to his chest, finally letting the pent up tears fall. There was no way he could go back now. It was simply too complicated. As he sits there and sobs over the family he's lost, he makes a promise:

He's not going to let this happen again. And he can't forget this time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> minho and chan have entered the chat! you'll be seeing a lot of them. we also got to learn a bit more about felix, specifically how seungmin feels about him. (i know this looks like a seunglix fic, but i promise their dynamic will make more sense as we get further in)
> 
> also txt and itzy made a small cameo because i felt like it. they probably won't show up again, but oh well.
> 
> have a good weekend!
> 
> -amy


	3. introductions and odd coincidences

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> seungmin discovers a connection that he has with chan.
> 
> we see some new faces. seungmin notices that a few of his friends are absolutely whipped for each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here's the next chapter! are y'all enjoying it so far?
> 
> we haven't quite gotten to major plot advancement yet, but i think i'm getting close.
> 
> hope you like this one! i might get the next chapter out before the end of the year.

One one of Seungmin’s days off, Chan convinces him to hang around at the café a little longer so that they can talk a bit more. Seungmin happily obliges, figuring that he’d rather spend his free time with somebody than by himself. After getting their drinks from Minho and Chan taking the opportunity to tease him, he and Seungmin sit down at a table near a window.

“So, you mentioned that you just recently moved to Seoul?” Chan asks, leaning forward a little bit, hands wrapped around his cup of coffee. “Where were you before now?”

“Oh, yeah, that’s right,” Seungmin answers, smiling fondly as he thinks about his previous home. “I used to live about a half hour out of Sydney. I moved here about a month and a half ago.”

Upon hearing the word Sydney, Chan’s eyes light up. “Really? That’s so weird. I grew up in Sydney.”

“No way.” Seungmin has to be careful now. The likelihood that he and Chan had a connection in Sydney was small, but he had better play it safe and try not to expose too many things about his previous life.

“Yeah, I lived there for 17 years. I just moved here 2 years ago.” Chan smiles, readjusting the black beanie on his head. “I haven’t been back in ages. How was it?”

“Beautiful. I love the place and the people. The weather’s also pretty nice, so that doesn’t hurt.” Seungmin trails off, thinking about his time in Sydney. His smile falters. “I miss it a lot.”

“Me too. It’s such a wonderful place. I hope I can visit again soon.” Seungmin looks up at Chan, seeing the wistful expression that he probably has on his own face.

“I hope you don’t mind me asking, but do you have an accent when you speak in English?” Seungmin blushes slightly, sure that it was a dumb question to ask.

Chan grins. “Yeah, I think so,” he answers, switching to his other language. “I think it’s gone away a little, but it’s still there.” Sure enough, his Australian accent pokes through, flooding Seungmin with an instant wave of nostalgia.

“Yeah, you’ve definitely got an accent.” Seungmin replies in English after a few moments, swallowing his sadness with another sip of his coffee. His accent is definitely American, especially when compared to the man in front of him. “I don’t think I lived there long enough to pick one up.”

Chan laughs, setting down his coffee. “Many don’t, in all fairness.” He pauses, something clearly on his mind. “I’ve been meaning to ask you: are you free on Saturday night?”

“Yeah, why?” Seungmin raises his eyebrows quizzically.

“Me and my bandmates have a gig this weekend, an I was wondering if you wanted to come.” Chan had mentioned that he was a musician and would bring up the other members of his group periodically. They hadn’t quite taken off in the music scene yet, but they were apparently getting close. “Minho’s going to be there too. It’s alright if you can’t make it, I just figured I’d ask.”

“No, that’s fine. I’d love to come!” Seungmin was telling the truth. He wanted to see his new friend perform, and he wanted to get to know Minho outside of his place of work. “Where and when is it happening?”

Chan’s mood seems to brighten even more at this. “Great! We’re performing at D9. It’s a bar that’s a few blocks away. I can give you directions. Our set is supposed to start around 9:30 PM.”

After sending Seungmin the address, Chan continues. “If you want, I can introduce you to some of Minho and I’s friends afterward. I’m sure they’d love to meet you.”

“That sounds great. Thanks, Chan.” He was starting to become the sole proprietor of Seungmin’s social life. Seungmin couldn’t say that he was upset about it; if anything, he thought it was a little funny. Somehow, he hadn’t managed to make many other friends besides Chan or Minho yet, save for some work acquaintances and a few exchanged words with his neighbors.

“It’s no problem. I think you’d get along great with all of them.”

* * *

Seungmin was glad that he had accepted Chan’s offer. He wasn’t obsessed with the atmosphere of D9 (he’d always had a slight aversion to bars and pubs), but he managed to set that aside while watching his friend perform. His group had introduced itself as 3Racha, and it was made up of three guys: Chan, who used the stage name CB97, a blonde-haired guy that went by J.One, and a short man with a muscular build named SpearB.

Seungmin didn’t listen to rap that much in his free time (music was a bit difficult to follow when trends changed as rapidly as they did), but he loved their set. He couldn’t provide much useful commentary if he tried, but he thought the three of them worked well together. It was clear that they were comfortable as a unit, not just three soloists trying to share the stage. They looked like they were really enjoying themselves, even if it was a pretty small venue.

After 3Racha’s set finished, Seungmin stood from the table he was sitting at and went to find his friends, trying to find his way through the sea of D9’s other patrons. Despite the deceptive size of the establishment (it looked really small from the outside), it took about ten minutes of scanning the crowd before he found Chan and Minho, laughing with the other members of 3Racha and another person Seungmin couldn’t recognize. They were on the second floor of the building, sitting at two tables that had somewhat hastily been pushed together.

From about 20 feet away, Chan noticed Seungmin wandering somewhat aimlessly, and he waved him over. Seungmin hesitantly approached the tables, hands in the pockets of his jacket.

“Hey there, Seungmin! I’m glad you could make it.” Chan has a huge smile on his face.

Minho looks up upon hearing Chan’s greeting, waving at Seungmin. “Hi Seungmin! Good to see you.”

“Hello,” Seungmin responds somewhat awkwardly, not sure whether or not he should sit down and join their conversation.

Chan turns to the other people seated at the table. “Everyone, this is Seungmin, the dude I was talking about.” Upon being somewhat informally introduced to the newcomer, the three other faces at the table look up at him and throw various greetings in his direction. “I’ll introduce you to everyone. You already saw Jisung and Changbin performing earlier,” the two musicians wave when he says their names, “and that’s Jeongin, our resident child.”

The boy on his right, a lanky figure with cotton-candy-blue hair and a glint in his eye, furrows his eyebrows, hitting Chan on the shoulder. “Hey, I’ve been 21 for almost five months! If anything, it’s you and Changbin hyung that act like children.” After a few moments where Jeongin and Chan glare intensely at each other, the two of them start laughing hysterically.

“Trust me Seungmin,” Jisung starts, holding in laughter. “Chan may be the oldest out of all of us, but he acts like a five year old sometimes.”

Seungmin smiles. “I’ll take your word for it.” He takes on of the empty seats at the table, hoping to just listen as the rest sink back into whatever conversation they were having before. As the chatter resumes, he laughs inwardly. His social circle has just about tripled in the span of two minutes. He’s barely even met the other men sitting at the table, but he’s sure that he has just made four amazing new friends.

After about ten minutes, a new face sits down at the table next to Minho, tucking his phone into his pocket as he sets down a drink.

“I just got off the phone with Chaeyoung. She had to leave really quickly after your set ended, but she says that you guys did a really good job! I think she said she was going to look into getting you guys a gig at Yellow Wood.”

Seungmin looks up to see who has just joined their table. Sitting across from him is a young man, probably about the same age as Jisung. He has deep brown eyes that glitter in the dim lighting of the bar, and his bleach-blonde hair falls just below his jawline. He has half of it pulled away from his face.

When the stranger notices that there are now seven people at the table, he meets Seungmin’s gaze. “Hi there. My name’s Hyunjin.”

“I’m Seungmin, a friend of Chan and Minho’s. It’s nice to meet you.”

Hyunjin smiles, eyes squinting a little bit. “Chan, when you said you invited a friend, you should have told me that he’s beautiful so I could prepare myself beforehand!”

“Considering the fact that he thinks Minho is the sexiest man to walk the face of the earth, do you really believe that you’d trust his opinion?” Jisung scoffs sarcastically, standing up defensively as soon as both Chan and Minho glare at him.

“I guess not,” Hyunjin muses, laughing briefly. “Anyway, purple is a very good color on you, Seungmin.”

“Thank you,” Seungmin responds, running his hand through his hair absentmindedly. “You make a good blonde.”

Hyunjin smirks. “I like this kid. You did good, Chan.”

“I try,” Chan says dryly, rolling his eyes ever so slightly. “You said that Chaeyoung might be setting us up with another gig?”

“Maybe. She said that one of you should call her about it, but to wait with tomorrow. She’s out on a date with Dahyun right now.”

“Finally!” Jisung exclaims, punching his fist into the air. “I’ve been trying to convince Chae to ask her out for weeks.” He pauses. “Wait, why am I just figuring this out from you?”

“The way she explained it, I’m pretty sure Dahyun was the one who asked. And who knows, maybe you’re being replaced by me.”

Jisung’s expression drops entirely. “Take that back right now, or I swear it’s on sight.”

“Go ahead and fight me, Jisung.” Hyunjin stands, clearly taunting the other. “You think I’m afraid of you?” Jisung stands and walks around the table. Even while squaring up, he’s more than a few inches shorter.

“All right, that’s it, both of you sit down.” Jeongin stands and walks over, breaking them apart. “I know that you’re not fighting over the title of ‘Chaeyoung’s best friend’ right now.” He looks at both of them silently for a few moments before all three of them start laughing.

Jisung sits down next to Changbin, nearly keeled over from laughter. “Regardless, this isn’t over, Hwang.” He points at Hyunjin in feigned animosity, and the latter mirrors the action.

“Seungmin, I want to tell you that they’re not usually like this,” Changbin begins nonchalantly, “but that would be a complete lie. They’re kind of always at each other’s throats.” He suddenly lowers his voice, leaning closer while everyone is distracted by Hyunjin and Jisung’s antics. “But it’s not so bad. It’s balanced pretty easily by Minho and Chan being absolutely head over heels in love with each other, but being completely oblivious about it.”

Seungmin takes a moment to look at Chan and Minho, whose chairs are so close that they’re practically sitting on each other. “Oh, is that right? I could’ve sworn that Minho existed in a constant state of wanting to rip Chan’s head off.”

Changbin grins. “Nope. He’s absolutely whipped. We’ve been trying to get them together for a year.”

Seungmin leans back slightly, glancing at the two of them again. He hadn’t noticed it before, but Minho was currently looking at Chan with a soft expression that he had never seen before. Minho had an arm wrapped around Chan and was smiling lightly as Chan was talking, letting him lean into his shoulder. Is this what Minho was like when he wasn’t stressed about the morning rush? Regardless of how different Minho was when he was around all of his friends, Seungmin knew for certain that there was at least a little bit of tenderness behind Chan’s voice whenever he flirted with Minho at the counter. Now that he thought about it, the two of them were quite easy to read. Even as there was a small argument brewing between Jisung and Jeongin over whether chartreuse fell in the ‘green’ or ‘yellow’ category, Minho and Chan were basically cuddling with each other.

Seungmin turns to Changbin again. “Tell me what I have to do. I want to help.”

Changbin smiles. “Oh, this is going to be amazing.”

* * *

After at least an hour of assorted antics and several hard to follow conversations, everyone collectively decided that it was getting late and that they should be getting home. Seungmin quickly exchanged numbers with everyone he hadn’t gotten them from, smiling lightly when Changbin said that he was going to be added to a few group chats as soon as possible. Bidding each other goodbye, the group went their separate ways, presumably heading back to their respective places of residence: Chan and Hyunjin went north, Minho and Jeongin went east, and Jisung and Changbin went south a few blocks with Seungmin before saying one last goodbye and heading back to their shared apartment. As Seungmin got back to his own place that night, he noticed that he felt lighter than he had in a long time. He was starting to find his feet in this confusing city.

Checking his phone, Seungmin sees a few new text notifications. He takes the time to reply to them.

—

**Chan**

thank you so much for coming! it was really fun introducing you to everybody.

**Seungmin**

thanks for inviting me! you, Jisung, and Changbin are really good performers. and I’m glad that you helped me make so many new friends.

**Chan**

it’s my pleasure. i’m glad you liked our performance. hope you have a good night!

**Seungmin**

you too, Chan

—

**Operation MinChan**

**binnie;)**

everybody welcome our newest recruit, Kim Seungmin

**jisung, the love of your life <3**

ah, I see he’s heard the good news! welcome to the mission, bestie

**jeongin is cute :]**

thank god. i was afraid that we’d have to keep him in the dark.

**hyunjin :3**

excellent

**seungmin**

hehe i’m just as excited as you are :D

—

Seungmin sets his phone down on the kitchen counter, the ghost of a smile on his lips. This set of friends was probably going to be the oddest he’d had in a while. He had barely met them, and yet they were so willing to bring him into their antics. 

He falls asleep that night with a smile on his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> new faces! we've got jisung, changbin, hyunjin, and jeongin added to the roster. squint and you'll catch a slight nod to dubchaeng. it has been established that chan is from sydney, which might be important later.
> 
> changbin convinces seungmin to join him in promoting the minchan agenda, as he should.
> 
> also side note, when is seungmin going to post on ig? it's been literal d a y s.
> 
> happy holidays!  
> -amy


	4. memories and meddling in someone else's love story

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> seungmin misses someone. chan is whipped and oblivious. everyone is gay. seungmin hasn't met minho's cats or kkami yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> for some reason this chapter took a really long time! i'm not sure why, but i was seemingly incapable of figuring out what happens in this part for a bit, but i've figured it out now. sorry for taking forever to get this part out.

Seungmin wakes up in the middle of the night, old and painful memories fresh in his mind. He sits up and rubs his eyes, sighing as he reminisces. The specific events his mind is focused on happened more than a few centuries ago, but they are somehow fresh in his mind, like they happened last week.

He’s thinking about Yugyeom.

Yugyeom was one of the first people Seungmin met after moving away from his home, a small, long-dead village in what was now the Korean peninsula. Seungmin was about forty years old at this point, and his face had not aged a day past twenty-five. He missed his family and friends and didn’t know anything about the town he had planted himself into. So when he accidentally ran into a man at the market, his eyes having been focused on the stalls and not the path ahead, he had introduced himself quite hastily, desperate to make a friend.

The man in question was more than a bit confused by how outgoing this stranger was when they had literally crashed into each other only moments ago, but he returned the gesture, mentioning that his name was Yugyeom as he picked up a few items that had fallen to the ground.

And despite the size of the town (no less the market, which seemingly sprawled on for kilometers), they kept running into each other. Seungmin was working at a pottery shop south of the market, and Yugyeom lived and worked less than a hundred meters away, in a small blacksmith shop that he owned. Friendship budded very quickly between the two of them, and it didn’t take long before Seungmin became emotionally attached to the town of Gangbyeon.

One day, while the two of them were eating their midday meal by the river (this had become a daily occurrence, since both enjoyed the other’s company), Seungmin realized exactly what Yugyeom meant to him. Maybe it was the way that Yugyeom laughed at the littlest things, or the way that his eyes crinkled when he smiled, or the way he always tried to cheer you up on a hard day. Maybe it was the way his hair fell to his shoulders or the little mole under his left eye or how happy he always was, regardless of how bad his day may have been or how simple his life was.

Whatever it was that made him special, it was that day when Seungmin realized that he loved Yugyeom.

It took almost a year and a half for the both of them to realize that such feelings were mutual. The first time they kissed, Seungmin felt like a long-dead fire had been reignited in his chest. Yugyeom felt like coming home, even if he was nothing like the world Seungmin had come from.

Seungmin had tried to stay as long as possible for him. Their time together lasted about six years. But then things started to get complicated. The people in the village began to wonder who that strange potter was over by the river. Why he never seemed to get tired. Why he was almost frozen in time. Seungmin had tried to explain his situation to Yugyeom, but it was hard to articulate in words. He ultimately decided that it was best for him to leave.

It was a hard decision, and it was even harder to carry out. On the night he left, he had kissed Yugyeom goodbye several times, trying to find the right words to give the both of them closure.

“Not a day will go by that I will not think about you, Seungmin,” Yugyeom mused, standing in the other’s arms near the forge. “I know that you want me to forget, but I do not believe I can. You have been absolutely perfect.”

Seungmin had tried to smile, holding back tears. “As have you. I am going to miss you terribly, but I cannot stay.” He had pulled the other close, breathing in the scent of fire and metal and dirt. It was a scent that he’d grown to love, and it was one he’d never forget. “I hope that you find home somewhere, if it cannot be in me.”

Yugyeom had smiled, a single tear rolling down his face. “I know that it is probably pointless to say, but I hope you do as well.”

“I love you, Yugyeom.”

“I love you, too.”

Seungmin finds himself sitting on his bed in the darkness of the early morning, cheeks wet as he remembers how painful leaving was. There had only been a few times in his life when he had to say goodbye like that, and he quickly learned that it was easier if there was no goodbye. Even if he regretted it in the moment, it would be easier later on. It’s harder to move on if you acknowledge it first, better to do it without warning. Like ripping off a bandage.

After letting himself cry for a few more minutes, Seungmin tries desperately to fall back asleep. It works eventually, but late enough that he’s exhausted when he gets up later in the morning.

* * *

When his eyes open, light is streaming through the curtains. An alarm clock on the bedside table reads 10:30 AM. Seungmin gets out of bed slowly, trying to rub the sleep out of his eyes. It takes a few moments of half-asleep silence before he realizes what woke him up:

There was a knock at the front door of his apartment.

Standing up fully, Seungmin throws a hoodie over his sweatpants and tee shirt and walks out of his room, moving tentatively to the door. Why is there someone on the other side of it this early in the morning?

Upon opening the door, Seungmin is met by a jovial Chan, who is holding two cups and has his usual beanie on.

“Hi Seungmin,” he starts. “You’re probably wondering why I’m at your door at 10:30 in the morning on a Saturday.”

Seungmin yawns, adjusting his glasses and standing straighter as he wakes up a bit more. “Yeah, I was curious. I know that you know where I live, but why are you here, exactly?”

Chan laughs. “Well, I didn’t see you at the café this morning. I knew you had a day off, but I normally see you there on Saturdays anyway. I figured I’d stop by.” He pauses. “Also, Minho was upset that he didn’t get to see you today, so I promised I’d bring you coffee.” On that note, he holds out a safely covered paper cup. “I know that you normally prefer your coffee cold, but I thought you might like it hot on a day like today.” Based on his appearance, September was starting to get a bit chillier, as a dark grey scarf was lazily draped around his neck.

“Thanks, Chan,” Seungmin tries, taking the cup and taking a sip. Though it’s much hotter than he’s used to, it’s somehow exactly what he needs. He pauses to take in the flavor. “This is…exactly how I like my coffee when I don’t get it iced. How’d you know?”

Chan wiggles his eyebrows slightly. “Magic, also known as Minho having an astounding memory when it comes to his friends’ coffee preferences.”

Seungmin laughs. “I’ll have to hear more about that later. Now, unless you want to stand outside my door while I finish my coffee, why don’t you come inside? Pardon any mess, I naturally wasn’t expecting you.”

“Thanks, Seungmin.” Chan walks in as the younger steps out of the way, moving in the direction of the living room and plopping down on the couch. “Have you eaten yet?”

“No, I literally just woke up two minutes ago.” Seungmin stands and holds his hand out as Chan starts walking towards the kitchen, having barely kicked his shoes off. “you don’t need to make breakfast for me. I’ll have you know that I’m perfectly capable of making eggs.”

Chan holds his hands up in surrender, moving towards the couch and sitting down. “Noted.”

While Seungmin alternates between drinking his coffee and making the aforementioned eggs, he and Chan fall into a light conversation.

“How boring was it without me this morning?” Seungmin asks, trying to listen to Chan while also attempting to avoid getting eggshells into the frying pan.

Chan laughs. “Not that boring, actually.”

“Is that right?” He looks up briefly after successfully cracking the eggs. Chan has a small smile on his face, and it takes a few moments for Seungmin to notice that he’s blushing. “What happened?”

Chan’s face reddens further, and he laughs nervously. “Well, quite a bit happened. That’s the other reason why I’m here.”

Seungmin turns from the stove, not even attempting to hide the confusion on his face. “You’re being incredibly vague. I’m not sure I understand.”

“Yeah, I suppose I can’t count on you to figure it out from context clues. I wasn’t even expecting it myself.” He pauses, deep in thought. “Okay, here’s a summary. When I walked into the café this morning, I followed my usual routine of ordering a black coffee, waiting patiently by the counter, and subtly flirting with Minho when he hands me my order. But you’ll never guess what happened!”

Seungmin looks back, having returned to cooking his eggs while listening. “What?”

“I tried out a new pickup line this time. I asked Minho, ‘how is the most beautiful person in Seoul doing this morning?’, expecting him to just roll his eyes and ignore me. Instead,” he pauses for dramatic effect, sitting up a bit straighter, “he _responded_ , for the first time ever. Not even a second passed before he said, ‘I don’t know, how are you, Chan?’ And then he just walked back to the espresso maker, handed me your coffee, and told me to take it to you. It was like nothing had happened.”

Seungmin transfers the eggs to a plate and pulls a slice of bread out of the toaster, a smile forming. “You’re _kidding_.”

Chan shakes his head adamantly. “No, and that’s not even the end of it! When I walked out of the building, I looked back at Minho, trying to see if he was just messing with me. And he _winked_ at me from behind the counter!”

Seungmin laughs, sitting down with his breakfast. Chan places his head in his hands, cheeks and ears reaching cherry red at this point. “I haven’t seen the two of you in action for very long, but based on your reaction to all of this, I’m going to assume that this is a new development.”

“You could say that,” Chan sighs, having abandoned his cup on the coffee table.

“Do you have a problem with Minho flirting back?”

Chan looks up, immediately shaking his head. “No! No, that’s not the issue. He can do whatever he wants. I have been doing it for the past two years, consistently throwing pickup lines at him nearly every day.” He leans back, staring at the ceiling, pulling his knees up to his chest. “The problem is that I have no clue why he decided to return it today. Like, we’ve had this as our running joke for the past year and a half. Changbin, Jeongin, Jisung, Hyunjin, and every mutual friend we have has come to the conclusion that we’re 'married'. Jeongin in particular treats us like his parents and calls both of us ‘dad’ on occasion. And I always thought that we’d established that it’s just a joke, and that there aren’t any feelings attached.”

“But…?” Seungmin supplies, after Chan pauses for a few moments.

“But I don’t think that’s necessarily been the case. As far as I know, Minho considers me to be his best friend that likes to joke around about kissing him in the moonlight. The way I see it, however,” he stops again, clearly having a bit of an internal debate, “I can’t say that all of my attempts to seduce him have been sarcastic in nature.

“What I’m trying and kind of failing to say is that I have had a crush on Lee Minho for the past seventeen months, and I don’t know what to do about it.” He finishes, putting his head in his hands again.

Seungmin sets down the half finished plate of eggs and the nearly empty cup of coffee and moves to sit next to Chan, who is visibly trying to fight off a crisis. “Have you considered just telling him?”

“Absolutely not,” Chan deadpans. “Of course I have! I think about it nearly every day I walkin and see him standing at the counter, taking orders and making coffee and having that soft smile on his face, even if he pretends he hates working there. I think about it whenever he rolls his eyes at my cheesy pickup lines or the way he insists that I’m never going to get a discount for being his best friend, even though he’s kind of done so for Jisung already. When he comes to visit Hyunjin and I at our apartment and gives me a bone crushing hug while threatening to put Hyunjin in the air fryer if he annoys him again, I imagine actually being married to him and giving him kisses when we wake up in the morning and telling him that I’ve loved him for what feels like centuries.”

“So why have you been holding back?” Seungmin wonders.

Chan sighs, looking down. “It’s incredibly cliché, but I’m afraid of changing the dynamic that we’ve established. If he says that he feels the same way, how will I know that he actually means it? And if he doesn’t, how is it going to affect our friendship? I don’t want things to be awkward between us, since we share basically everything already.”

Seungmin ponders what Chan has told him. Having been in Chan’s, Minho’s, and his own situation before, he knows that it would make the most sense for Chan to just admit his feelings and take it from there. He doesn’t have the time to worry about how Minho will react, not when he’s got so little time to love him, in the grand scheme of things.

And maybe he’s being a bit of a hypocrite when he says it, but Seungmin gives Chan a similar rendition of that advice.

“Is it really worth ignoring when you’ve been waiting this long?” He responds, taking one of Chan’s hands between his own. “I’m positive that my experience with romance has been far from perfect,” (which was not a lie; romance had never been kind or easy) “but I do know that it’ll only hurt more if you say nothing and pretend that that you don’t love Minho Especially if you are reminded of it every morning when you see him. If he rejects you, it might be awkward for a little bit, but if I’ve learned anything about Minho in the past month or so, it’s that he cares a lot about his friends, specifically you. He won’t let your friendship fall apart, even if he doesn’t return your feelings.”

“Thanks, Seungmin.” Chan smiles. “I’m not sure if I’m quite ready to admit to all of it, but I think I’ll tell him soon.”

“Thank god. I was worried that Changbin and I were going to have to lock you two in a closet.” As soon as Seungmin says that sentence, he places a hand over his mouth. “Pretend you didn’t hear that. The five of us are definitely not trying to get the two fo you together.”

After a brief moment of surprise and confusion, Chan laughs, hitting Seungmin softly on the shoulder. “Trust me, I’ve been getting vibes from Changbin and Jeongin for months. I had assumed that the other two were in on it, and I’m not surprised they’ve talked to you about it.”

“Well if you know that they’ve been trying to get you two to kiss for the past several months, why haven’t you kissed Minho yet?” Seungmin asks adamantly, laughing.

Chan rolls his eyes. “Maybe introducing you to my friends wasn’t as good of an idea as I thought. I think they’re rubbing off on you.”

* * *

**Operation Minchan**

**seungmin**

you’ll never guess what happened, folks

**jeongin is cute :]**

oh my god spill what happened

**jisung, the love of your life <3**

give us the details bro

**hyunjin :3**

we’re dying sir just tell us

**binnie ;)**

seungmin, please share

**seungmin**

okay so i slept in bc it’s my day off and i didn’t meet chan at the café this morning

and he brought me coffee when i woke up

so first of all chan best dad 🗣

**jisung, the love of your life <3**

chan best dad (1)

**jeongin is cute :]**

chan best dad (2)

**binnie ;)**

chan best dad (3)

**hyunjin :3**

chan best dad (4)

**seungmin**

as it mf should be 😌

anyways he stopped by to bring me coffee and keep me company as i made breakfast and i asked him how things were at the café without me and GUESS WHAT HE SAID

**hyunjin :3**

JUST TELL US WHAT HE SAID MINNIE

**seungmin**

m-minnie?🥺

but apparently when chan got his coffee this morning, he threw a ‘how’s the prettiest person in seoul doing this morning’ at minho

**jeongin is cute :]**

disgusting

i love it tell me more

**seungmin**

it gets BETTER

instead of rolling his eyes like he normally does, minho RESPONDED with ‘idk, how are you chan’

**jisung, the love of your life <3**

he mf WHAT

YOU’RE KIDDING

**seungmin**

i’m NOT

and when chan told me this, he started blushing and basically confessed that he’s been in love with minho for the past year and a half but he’s afraid to say anything

**binnie ;)**

CALLED IT

**hyunjin :3**

lmao whipped wbk

**seungmin**

and before you ask, chan knows that y’all have been trying to get him and minho together and he’s fine with me telling you all of this

**jeongin is cute :]**

well if he knows that we want them to get married then WHY hasn’t he kissed minho yet!!!!!😡😡😡

**seungmin**

i asked the same thing and he said it’s bc he’s shy and worried that it’ll mess up their friendship

**hyunjin :3**

i mean, considering that everyone already thinks they’re married, i don’t think it’ll change much 🏃♂️🏃♂️🏃♂️

i think it just means that minho will flirt back more often and that they’ll kiss and go on dates and whatever

WAIT if they move in together does that mean chan’s going to kick me out

who’s gonna take care of kkami while i’m working 😔

**binnie ;)**

i don’t think you need to worry about that yet hyunjin they’re literally not even dating yet

speaking of which, what are we supposed to do now that we’ve confirmed that chan has fallen

**jisung, the love of your life**

somebody has to talk to minho and get his side of the story

**seungmin**

leave it to me

i already have to thank minho for making me coffee for free this morning so it shouldn’t be too hard

i’ll call him later

**jeongin is cute :]**

you should definitely do it in person tho

you can’t see him get flustered over the phone 😼

also you haven’t met his cats yet which is a crime against humanity

**jisung, the love of your life**

hell yeah soonie doongi and dori are my homies

**jeongin is cute :]**

since the two of us are roommates you can just come over to hang out with me and then we can both corner him when he gets home from work

**hyunjin :3**

wait but that means that the three of us are gonna miss it 😔

**jeongin is cute :]**

i’ll give you updates silly stop complaining

**jisung, the love of your life**

yeah, you and i helped set my brother up with jae last year

**hyunjin :3**

sighs

yeah but younghyun and jae are in america and we haven’t seen them in months

speaking of which seungmin needs to meet them when they visit

they’re coming here in december right?

**jisung, the love of your life**

yeah, they’re gonna be here like the whole month or smth

my mom is really excited to see her future son in law and also youngk

**binnie ;)**

that reminds me of when hyunjin’s sister visited last year and their mom was more excited to see her daughter’s girlfriend than her daughter

**hyunjin :3**

i mean to be fair lia is an absolute angel

**seungmin**

N E WAYS jeongin i’m coming over in like an hour and a half

can you send me your address so i can try not to get lost

**jeongin is cute :]**

sure thing

[address]

**seungmin**

cool thanks

**hyunjin :3**

okay this has been absolutely raidcal but i have to go to work

if y’all would kindly shut up

**jisung, the love of your life <3**

bro the do not disturb button is literally right there what do you mean shut up🧍♂️

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you enjoyed! comments, feedback, and kudos are always appreciated. while you're here, feel free to check out my other fic, "look back to the future, in fact". it's a loose retelling of the skzverse (the story outlined in the music videos) with a few twists, and the first couple chapters are out already.
> 
> also not to be an ahgase or anything but i love got7 with all of my heart and soul and would do anything for each one of them.
> 
> -amy


	5. confessions, cats, and commemorations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> minho shares his side of the story and reveals how much he loves his cats. jeongin has several plan(t)s. hyunjin reveals a fascinating secret about his past. jisung causes problems on purpose. seungmin discovers exactly how special the month of september is to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> holy moly it's been a very long time since i've updated this fic! hi, i'm back. i hope you like this one. we're getting to a plot point i'm very excited about.

When Seungmin knocks on the door of Jeongin and Minho’s apartment that afternoon, it only takes a few moments for someone to answer. Jeongin excitedly opens the door, a wide grin on his face. “Hi, Seungmin! Come on in.”

Seungmin obliges, walking into the entryway of the apartment. The walls are off-white and decorated with a few simple paintings. When Seungmin is taking off his shoes and setting down his jacket, he hears the sound of small, clawed feet. Seungmin looks to find the source of the noise and sees that a cat has walked into the room, with orange fur and white paws.

“That’s Soonie,” Jeongin supplies, standing in the doorway to what Seungmin thinks is the kitchen. “I think Doongi and Dori are fighting for Minho’s attention in the other room.”

Seungmin crouches down slightly, holding out his hand to pet the cat. He’s had pets before, and this isn’t his first run-in with cats, but it’s been long enough that he can’t fully remember how to interact with them.

“Hi, Soonie. It’s nice to meet you.” Jeongin laughs and walks into the kitchen, leaving Seungmin behind to try to become friends with the cat. Said cat looks at Seungmin for approximately ten seconds and then proceeds to walk away, back where it came from.

Seungmin follows Jeongin and Soonie into the kitchen, noting the sheer number of plants on windowsills, counters, and hanging from the ceiling. “This is like a greenhouse! I love it.”

Jeongin smiles. “When Minho isn’t spoiling his children, the two of us like taking care of them. None of them are incredibly high-maintenance, in case one of us forgets to water them, but it’s a fun hobby. It helps that Hyunjin and I work at a nursery right now.”

“Oh really? That’s cool,” Seungmin responds a bit absentmindedly, still looking at the wide variety of flora. After a minute or so, he turns back to Jeongin. “Thanks for inviting me over, by the way. I didn’t really have much to do today.”

“Me neither. I needed the company, since I’m starting to get sick of Minho.”

“Just because I’m in the other room doesn’t mean I can’t hear you!” Minho yells from deeper in the apartment. After about three seconds, he appears from the door to what Seungmin can only guess is his bedroom. “Hi, Seungmin! It’s good to see you. I was playing with my kids and didn’t hear you come in.”

Jeongin rolls his eyes. “In case it wasn’t apparent, Minho is a cat dad first, friend second.”

“And what about it?” Minho asks innocently, kissing the gray cat in his arms on the head. “This is Dori, by the way. Doongi is…” he trails off, looking around. Another orange cat walks in between his legs into the living room, “right there. Don’t worry if they ignore you. They kind of like to keep to themselves, except for when I’m around.”

“Yeah, they barely acknowledge my presence,” Jeongin adds. “And I’ve been living in the same house as them for about two years.”

“Cats are like that sometimes,” Seungmin muses, sitting down at the counter. “Oh, Minho, by the way, thanks for making me coffee this morning! Somehow, you knew exactly what I wanted without asking me.”

Minho smiles, letting Dori jump out of his arms and land on the floor. “It’s no problem, Seungmin. And that’s the magic of being a talented barista and knowing your friends. You could say that it’s my sixth sense. I know all of your coffee preferences.”

“Chan mentioned that when he dropped it off this morning. Speaking of which,” Minho furrows his brows a bit, not following. “I heard that something happened this morning while I wasn’t there.”

Minho has a brief moment when he tries to recall what Seungmin is talking about, before his eyes light up with understanding and he laughs nervously. “Oh yeah, that.”

“Mind explaining for the rest of the class?” Jeongin asks, barely trying to hide the grin on his face.

Minho’s face reddens, and he places his head in his hands. “I hoped that you weren’t going to ask.” After a few moments of silence, he begins again. “I flirted back with Chan this morning, just to see what would happen. And you want to know the wild thing about it?”

“What?” Seungmin asks.

“I think it caught Chan off-guard. Like he was blushing as he left this morning!” He pauses. “I don’t know. It was just a bit weird. He literally does it every morning. It’s our little inside joke, where he acts like my boyfriend and showers me with pickup lines while I ignore him and try to work. And I was just trying to be funny this morning and try something new, but…” he trails off. “It was actually kind of nice.” There’s a soft smile on his face.

“What do you mean?” Jeongin asks, trying to get more out of him.

“Like, we’ve been doing this almost every day for the past two years! We’ve kind of come to accept the fact that it’s how our friendship works, and that it’s entirely platonic, but…” he blushes again. “God, this is so cheesy. I kind of like it when he flirts with me, and part of me wishes that he meant it in the way it’s usually intended.”

He goes to sit down on the couch, and Seungmin and Jeongin quickly join him. Doongi jumps into Minho’s lap. “I’ve only started noticing this as of a few months ago, probably around April. And it’s the little things, too. Like the way he absolutely shuts down when someone tells him a joke, or his little tired smile when he walks into the café in the morning, knowing that he’s about to deliver the worst pickup line ever created. That adorable beanie he always wears. How he always seems to know the right thing to say, the right advice to give. How he is willing to give his all to make sure the people around him know how much he cares about them. The way he always looks so comfortable and is always there to hug your problems away.

“I think I love him, and I don’t think that it’s in the way I love all of you. Like, I want to be there to make sure he goes to bed before 3 in the morning. I want to make him coffee in the kitchen of my apartment, and kiss him good morning and good night. I want to be there for him in the same way that he’s there for me, ready to give a hug or provide some advice. I want to be there when he gets burnt out from working too hard and putting everyone else before himself.” He pauses, absentmindedly running his hand through Doongi’s fur. “But I don’t know how to tell him.”

Seungmin smiles. “Just be honest. It can’t hurt in this situation, right?”

“But I’m scared of him telling me that I’ve been reading all of this the wrong way. I don’t know how I’d live with myself knowing that I confessed to Chan and he didn’t feel the same way. God, what if I completely misinterpreted it? He’s been jokingly flirting with me for two years! Not once has he made any inclination that he means any of it.” Minho frowns looking down at Doongi. “I’m not sure my cats could even console me then.”

“Hey,” Jeongin interjects, placing a hand firmly on Minho’s shoulder. “We’re not having any of that. You are Lee Minho. You’re not allowed to regret falling in love with someone. Do you remember when you sent that love letter to Youngjae-hyung and he rejected you? Did you wallow in self-pity for months?” Minho shakes his head. “Exactly. You, sir, are not going to do that if Chan-hyung rejects you, either. And besides, what makes you so sure that he’s going to reject you? Would he have flirted with you every day for two years if there wasn’t at least a little truth behind it?”

“When you flirted with him this morning, did he not get flustered?” Seungmin asks. Minho nods. “I don’t think he would have if he didn’t love you back.”

Minho groans loudly, placing his head in his hands again. “Feelings suck. Even if you’re right, how do I go about it? Like, do I just hand him his coffee on Monday and casually say ‘hey, Chan, I’m pretty sure I’ve fallen in love with you, and I desperately want to kiss you’?”

Jeongin stifles a laugh. “No, Minho, we can do better than that. I think I have some ideas.”

Minho looks up at Jeongin. “Please, help me. What did you have in mind?”

Jeongin looks at Seungmin and Minho with a huge grin on his face. “Well, Chan’s birthday is coming up in a few weeks. Here’s what I’m thinking.”

* * *

Three hours, a round of tea, and some old pastries later, Jeongin, Minho, and Seungmin have made the beginnings of a plan. They would have to get Jisung, Hyunjin, and Changbin on board (which Seungmin was sure would not be a problem), but it was going to be flawless.

“I think we’ve made some good progress, folks,” Jeongin asserts, setting down a notepad that he’d been feverishly scribbling ideas into. “Unfortunately, it is dinner time and I have to study for a physics test on Monday morning.”

“We can do that after dinner. Are you inviting Hyunjin over to help you?”

Jeongin shoots Minho a look. “Of course I am. He is the only reason I’m graduating next spring.”

“Then you should tell him to come now. We can order dinner. Seungmin, would you like to join us?”

“Sure thing,” Seungmin concedes, stretching his arms into the air. “What are you two in the mood for?”

Jeongin’s eyes light up. “I want pizza.”

“Awesome,” Minho answers, picking up his phone. “I’ll text Hyunjin and tell him to come over. Any toppings in particular?”

“Pepperoni is always good. I don’t really care. I just want pizza.”

“Noted.” Minho laughs.

It takes about twenty minutes for Hyunjin to show up, and about fifteen for the pizza. When he walks in the door (for whatever reason, he has a key to the apartment), Jeongin is shoveling pizza into his mouth at an alarming rate.

“Hurry, Hyunjin!” Minho exclaims in greeting. “Come get some before Jeongin eats all of it.”

Hyunjin laughs loudly, setting his backpack down on the floor. “Give me a moment. Oh, hi Seungmin!”

Seungmin waves, setting down his half-eaten pizza slice in the process. “Hey, Hyunjin. How are you?”

“Starving,” he answers honestly, opening a pizza box and pulling out two slices. “Fun fact, a lot of people have anniversaries and birthdays in September. The nursery was really busy. Jeongin, you’re lucky you didn’t have a shift today.”

“I’m sure it’ll be just as bad tomorrow,” Jeongin concedes, shrugging. “At least we only have one shift each this weekend.”

“So true, bestie.” Hyunjin turns to his pizza, not saying any more.

“Speaking of birthdays,” Jeongin starts, looking at the cat-themed calendar on the wall, “isn’t it Jisung’s birthday on Monday?”

Minho nods. “Yeah. If you’re wondering, Changbin and Chan are taking care of snacks and dinner that night. We’re supposed to take Jisung to the park in the afternoon so they can set up.” He pauses, seeming to remember something. “Oh, right. Seungmin, do you want to join us? We’re throwing a ‘surprise’ party that Jisung definitely already knows about on Monday night. Did Chan invite you this morning?”

“I don’t think so. He must have forgotten. I finish working at about 4:30, so I should be available!” He looks at the calendar, noting the day where ‘Jisung’s Birthday :D’ is written in messy, blue handwriting. It was probably Jisung’s doing. Sure enough, it was on Monday, September 14th.

_That’s the day before Felix’s._

Seungmin frowns for a few moments, before shoving down his emotions, plastering on a smile, and reentering the conversation.

“While we’re on the topic of birthdays,” Minho continues, “when’s yours, Seungmin?”

“Oh, it’s the 22nd. You don’t have to do anything, it’s all right.”

“Nonsense,” Hyunjin argues, waving his hand dismissively. “It’s your first birthday in Seoul, and you’ve decided to become friends with all of us. We take birthdays seriously, and there is absolutely _no way_ that you’re spending it alone.”

Seungmin smiles, albeit tentatively. “Honestly, it’s fine. I don’t need you to throw a party for me. I’d honestly rather you didn’t. I’m not huge on large social gatherings.”

Hyunjin’s smile falters. “Oh, that’s okay. We don’t have to do something huge! It can just be the seven of us ordering takeout and watching your favorite movie. But I’m sure that at least one of us, meaning Chan, is going to have a fit if we don’t at least acknowledge it. Besides, we’d all love to celebrate your birthday, as long as it’s all right with you.”

“Okay, we can celebrate.” Hyunjin and Jeongin high-five each other, and Minho smiles. “Just don’t feel like you have to go all out.”

“Oh! I almost forgot to tell you, Hyunjin!” Jeongin gasps, setting down his plate and pulling out the notepad from before. “We got Minho to confess to us this afternoon, and we’ve convinced him to tell Chan on his birthday.”

Hyunjin’s face lights up. “I _knew_ it! October 3rd is only a few weeks away. Tell me what I have to do.”

“Nothing yet,” Minho interjects, face reddening slightly. “I want to wait until we have Jisung and Changbin’s support before we go any further with this. Wait,” Minho furrows his eyebrows, staring Hyunjin down. “Did you already know?”

Hyunjin laughs. “Minho, we’ve known for _months_. Jeongin, Changbin, Jisung, and I have been trying to get you together all summer. We recruited Seungmin for his help last week.”

Minho’s stare turns into a glare, before he leans back, sighing in exasperation. “I hate all of you so much.”

“Love you too, babe,” Hyunjin muses, leaning towards him with a mischievous smile. “Now. I am personally very excited to finally get Minho his man, but right now,” he closes the pizza box and takes Jeongin’s phone out of his hand, “I need to make sure Jeongin doesn’t fail his physics test.”

Jeongin groans and starts to protest, but Hyunjin simply looking at him with a ‘don’t test me’ expression is enough to get him to shut up.

“Well, that’s my cue to see myself out,” Seungmin says, standing from his seat on the couch. Minho grabs his hand desperately and tries to pull him back down.

“Please, don’t abandon me!” Minho begs, eyes wide. “Don’t leave me alone with Hyunjin and Jeongin.”

Seungmin laughs and rolls his eyes. “Stop being dramatic. You have your cats. You can go bother them instead of me. I have to go home and finish editing a piece that’s due on Monday.”

Minho pouts. “Fine.” He stands up and pulls Soonie off the ground. “Bye, Seungmin!” He waves and walks into his room.

“Goodbye.” Hyunjin and Jeongin wave from the couch and say their goodbyes ad Seungmin takes his plate to the sink and leaves the apartment.

As he’s walking back home that evening, Seungmin lets himself think about what he’d forced himself to ignore earlier.

_He was going to miss Felix’s birthday for the first time in 5 years._

* * *

The two of them had a tradition on their birthdays.

Seungmin’s was just a week after Felix’s, so their celebration was sort of a combined effort that lasted the whole week. It began at midnight on the 15th, where Seungmin would wish Felix a happy birthday. The two of them would stumble through making a cake that evening, somehow managing not to burn down their apartment’s kitchen, and they’d have fried chicken for dinner, watch _Atlantis_ (Felix’s favorite movie) and probably fall asleep on the couch at about 1:30 in the morning.

They’d have a small get together with their college friends a few days later, where they’d listen to music and eat more cake and just spend time with the people they were close to. The event meant they would invite roughly ten other people into their apartment (Kai, Taehyun, Beomgyu, Soobin, Yeonjun, Yuna, Chae, Ryujin, Lia, and Lucy), and they’d spend that evening talking, watching assorted Disney movies, and trying not to kill Tae, Kai, and Yuna when they were being ridiculous.

At some point, they would go to Felix’s parents house and have dinner with them, since Seungmin’s parents had passed away (centuries ago, though that part was left out).

The last day was Seungmin’s birthday, which Felix always went all out for. He made cheesecake and spent basically the entire day with him, giving dozens of hugs and telling jokes and continuously reminding Seungmin how important he was to Felix. They would normally have pizza for dinner and watch _Singing in the Rain_ (which was Seungmin’s favorite movie).

Seungmin missed Felix so much, and the fact that their birthday week was coming up made it even worse. He had tried to push it aside and focus on Jisung when he went to celebrate with his new friends, but it was hard to forget when it was such a big part of Seungmin’s most recent college experience.

What Seungmin wouldn’t give to get a hug from Felix right now.

At Jisung’s party, he did his best to wait until he got home to cry about it, and he was mostly successful. He had smiled and laughed and returned Jisung’s hug when he received his gift from Seungmin (a coffee mug and a framed photo he’d taken of the Han River). He’d done his best to stay involved in the conversation and laugh at Changbin and Jisung’s dumb jokes while they were watching the second Star Wars movie. And he’d tried to keep up with Jeongin’s antics and Hyunjin’s facetious flirting (which he was much better at than Chan).

But eventually, he’d told all of them that he was going to turn in early and head home (when Chan asked if he was all right over text that night, he said his social battery had run out). He walked home in the crisp night air, forcing himself to focus on the beautiful city lights and the bustling nightlife around him.

And when he finally stepped into his quiet, dark apartment, he let go. He hadn’t even made it into the living room before the tears started falling. He somehow managed to kick off his shoes and remove his jacket and scarf before sitting down on the couch, desperately trying to keep himself from hyperventilating.

He didn’t try to stop the tears from falling, though. He knew it would only hurt more later if he tried to suppress his sadness now. He could let himself cry about Felix one more time, and then he’d let himself move on.

As he cried, he found that the opening theme of _Singing in the Rain_ was stuck in his head. Considering the fact that he’d seen the movie more than 50 times and that he’d been thinking about Felix, it wasn’t ultimately that surprising. In gasping breaths, he started humming the tune, hoping that it could somehow calm him down.

And it did, oddly enough.

Seungmin didn’t really understand why a song about love and rain was soothing in this particular moment, but it worked. He sat up slowly, breathing deeply and starting to sing the words softly.

Tomorrow and the next week was probably going to hurt a lot. And this wasn’t going to be the last time he’d cry about things he missed. Heck, this happened literally all the time, because Seungmin was a crier and he liked holding on to things he couldn’t get back.

But that was okay. Seungmin had been through this before, so many times he nearly lost count. And he was going to be okay.

And he didn’t know it, but someone else was humming the same tune through their own tears, hundreds of miles away, missing the same moments as Seungmin.

* * *

The 22nd of September starts quietly, like most Tuesdays do. Seungmin wakes up with his alarm to the soft, cold sunlight of an autumn morning. He has to work today, but he's gotten up early enough that he'll have time to stop by the café to say hello to Chan and Minho, who have fully been ignoring the incident from about two weeks ago.

As Seungmin gets ready for the day and pulls on his favorite sweater, he takes time to reflect on his time in Seoul thus far. It's been about two months at this point, and he has seen some of the hidden beauty that the city has to offer. He's seen the culture of the constantly moving and living streets, the skyline at all hours of the day, the noise of the traffic that you eventually learn to tune out. He's met the people (or some of them), who embrace their fast lifestyles and smile through the long days as they look out at the beautiful city around them. Seungmin doesn't think he'll ever get sick of it, meeting people who have fallen in love with the world around them. No matter where he goes, he can always find them.

Seungmin leaves his apartment with a serene smile on his face, waving to his neighbor as they pass by. He's not sure exactly why he's got this kind of bounce in his step this morning. Maybe it's just because he's learned to look forward to his birthday, even if it often looks a bit different every time he celebrates it.

As he steps into the coffee-scented, comfortably warm atmosphere of the café, Seungmin immediately notices that the usual table by the window is occupied by four times the usual amount of people. Other than Chan, whose face is practically glowing from beneath his hat, Seungmin can see Changbin, Jisung, and Jeongin sitting next to him. When they notice that their friend has entered the building, each comes to focus their gaze on him, smiles forming.

"Happy birthday, Seungmin!" Jeongin almost yells, standing up and running to the entrance of the shop. Seungmin laughs as the younger tackles him in a bear hug, nearly causing the pair to fall to the ground.

"Thanks, Jeongin," Seungmin answers in between giggles, noting that everyone else has started moving in their direction. "How about we take this party back to the table, so that we don't block the entrance."

"Good plan." Seungmin turns to see Minho standing next to him, holding a cup of coffee. "I'm glad that you're here, but it'd be nice if other customers could enter the building. Happy birthday!" He hands Seungmin the drink, and, sure enough, it's a cup of cold brew. Exactly how Seungmin usually orders it. "In case you're wondering, that has been paid for."

When the trio reaches the table, there is a chorus of 'happy birthday's from the occupants. As Seungmin and Jeongin sit down and Minho heads back to the counter to do his job, Seungmin notices Hyunjin walking over, definitely holding way too many cups of coffee and locked in concentration. Upon noticing this, Jisung jumps up immediately and takes a couple from him.

"Thanks, Ji," Hyunjin muses, still a bit distracted. "At least _someone_ here cares enough to keep me from spilling coffee all over the floor."

"I didn't do it for you, baby," Jisung teases, taking a sip of one of the drinks in his hand. "I was acting for the sole purpose of saving mine from such a fate. I could care less if you drop them."

"Well, thanks for saving mine as well, Hannie." Chan takes the other cup out of Jisung's hand as Hyunjin whines quietly, raising it to his lips.

"Seungmin, do you see the disrespect I have to deal with?" Hyunjin comments, handing cups to Jeongin and Changbin (both say thank you, stifling laughter). "It's appalling."

"Friendly reminder that you do in fact spend every waking moment bullying Jisung and I, Hyunjin," Changbin interjects, to which Jisung nods gravely.

"This isn't about me, folks," Hyunjin answers, plopping down next to Seungmin and taking a long sip of his Americano.

"Careful, you don't want to get a brain freeze. Or even worse, you could spill that on your shirt." Hyunjin stops, looking up dramatically at Jisung.

"I thought we were never going to talk about that again, Han Jisung."

"And I thought that it was funny and needed to be brought up again, Hwang Hyunjin." Jisung looks back, taunting the older.

"And I think that we should focus on the fact that it's Seungmin's birthday today," Chan interrupts, causing Hyunjin and Jisung's bout of psychological warfare to come to an abrupt end. "Seungmin, do you work today?"

"Yeah, I do," Seungmin answers. "I've probably got about a half hour before I should get going. Thanks for surprising me like this, everyone."

"Anything for my new best friend," Jeongin smiles, causing Hyunjin to gasp dramatically and look at him with a betrayed expression. "Oh, have your plans changed, or does tonight at HyunChan's apartment still work?"

"You guys are my only friends," Seungmin laughs. "I don't have any plans."

"We just had to make sure you didn't decide to spend your birthday crying alone in your apartment," Changbin adds. "We don't want you bailing when we have _such and exciting_ night planned."

"Said night comprised of watching old movie musicals and eating too much food, of course," Seungmin says sarcastically. "I wouldn't trade it for the world."

When Seungmin bids his friends goodbye that morning and begins his short walk to work, he couldn't get rid of his smile if he tried. He could stick around for a while if it meant he could spend time with them.

* * *

As promised, they spend that night at Hyunjin and Chan's apartment, which is a much better place for a social gathering than Jisung and Changbin's small flat. They decide to watch _My Fair Lady_ and _The Music Man_ , both of which are largely enjoyed, regardless of how much Jisung and Changbin had sarcastically complained beforehand. Hyunjin talks about the time he was in a production of the latter, causing everyone to collectively lose their minds as it is revealed that he used to do musical theatre.

"I knew you were a theatre kid," Jisung yells. "I could smell it on you."

"Oh hush, you didn't know anything. My connection with showtunes goes deep, though. I'm honestly surprised this hasn't come up before." Hyunjin grabs a handful of popcorn and starts eating it. "Now shut up and pay attention. The library scene is my favorite part."

After several hours of laughing until their stomachs hurt and singing out of tune to the soundtrack, Jisung yawns and promptly grabs Changbin's hand, announcing loudly that he was tired and they were going home. Changbin rolls his eyes and gives Seungmin one last hug, eventually having to drag Jisung out of the apartment because he nearly fell asleep on his feet. "I hope you can forgive me. It's past my child's bedtime." Then, the door closes.

"Same with mine," Minho muses, causing Jeongin to protest loudly from the kitchen, where he's grabbing a can of coke. "Jeongin, don't you have a lecture at, like, the crack of dawn tomorrow morning?"

"It's only at 9 AM, and it's for Lit. My professor won't care if I don't show up."

"Okay," Minho answers slowly, "but you are still paying college tuition, and I know you don't want this to become a habit."

Jeongin groans loudly, taking a long swig from his soda. "Fine. We can go home. I'll go to my lecture tomorrow morning."

Minho cheers softly, standing and walking to the door to get his coat.

"Are you excited because you've convinced Jeongin to get a decent night's sleep tonight, or is it just because you're an old man and want to go home and hug your cats?" Hyunjin asks, eyebrows raised.

"I will not be accepting questions at this time. Hwang, you're lucky we're at your apartment right now, because if we were at mine, you'd be going in the air-fryer right now."

"I know, I know. 180 degrees, 20 minutes. You give the same threat every week. Just go home, grandpa."

Minho squints his eyes, taking Jeongin's hand and pulling him towards the door so he can get his own jacket. "You're on thin ice."

Hyunjin simply smiles back from his place on the couch. "Bye, Minho."

"Happy birthday, Seungmin!" Jeongin and Minho say it one last time before leaving, Minho throwing one last ice-cold glare at Hyunjin.

Chan turns to the other two people on the couch. "Well, I guess there are three of us now. I'm going to clean up a bit and maybe work on a song. You two can do whatever you want, I guess."

"Okay," Hyunjin answers, picking up a few empty bags of chips and other pieces of trash. "Let me help."

After the three of them spend about ten minutes cleaning up the remains of their 'party', Hyunjin turns to Seungmin, who has once more settled on the couch.

"You want to watch another movie while you're here? Both of us have the day off tomorrow, and I don't want to go to bed yet."

Seungmin considers the offer. If he was to be completely honest, he didn't want to go home yet. "Sure."

Hyunjin smiles, sitting down next to him and picking up the tv remote. "Awesome. Do you have anything in mind?"

Seungmin feels a pang in his chest. He did have something in mind. It was a movie that he'd not been able to stop thinking about the whole week, and he had just realized how much he missed it. "Yes, actually. Have you seen _Singing in the Rain_?"

And as they watch the movie that Seungmin had grown used to watching every year on his birthday, he doesn't feel the sadness he was expecting. As the opening credits play, he has a moment of nostalgia, but it leaves him quickly, being taken over by excitement as Hyunjin starts singing along and quoting the script word-for-word.

It's not exactly the same. But it still feels good to celebrate like this.

At some point in the middle of the movie, Seungmin's eyes get heavy, and he drifts off with his head on Hyunjin's shoulder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this fic isn't about hyunsung but i do love writing scenes where they argue affectionately with one another. i think chan's birthday is coming in the next chapter, and then we're going to do some big time skips and the drama is going to increase drastically. as always, thanks for reading! comments and kudos are always appreciated. take care! also s e u n g j i n fluff.  
> -amy


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